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With the La Liga season coming to a close, all four automatic berths into next season’s UEFA Champions League have been clinched. Real Madrid, who locked up the La Liga title weeks ago, are joined by Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla in UCL next season.
Real Madrid
How they got there: Real Madrid cruised to their 35th La Liga championship this season, officially clinching the title in mid-April. Karim Benzema led the team — and the league — with 27 goals ahead of the final matchday. Vinicius Jr. had a big showing as well, logging a total of 17 goals going into the last week, tied with Raul de Tomas for third-best in the league. Real Madrid are also still alive in the 2021-22 Champions League, as they’ll face off against EPL side Liverpool in the final on May 28.
Barcelona
How they got there: Barcelona locked up the second place spot earlier this month, booking their place in next season’s Champions League group stage. They’ve won the UCL title a total of five times, with the most recent coming in 2015 after defeating Juventus 3-1 in the final. Ahead of the final week in La Liga, Memphis Depay led the team with 12 goals while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang trailed closely with 11 throughout the season. Ousmane Dembele logged an impressive 13 assists through 20 games for the Spanish giants as well.
Atletico Madrid
How they got there: While Atletico Madrid locked up a top four finish well before the season’s end, they clinched third place on the final day of the season, finishing just one point ahead of Sevilla. Angel Correa (12) and Luis Suarez (11) led the team in scoring, while Belgian star Yannick Carrasco led the team in assists with six. Atletico will be making their 10th consecutive appearance in UCL after being eliminated by Manchester City in this last season’s quarterfinal.
Sevilla
How they got there: Sevilla also clinched a top four finish before the season ended, but they didn’t clinch fourth place until the final day of the season. They finished with a 1-0 win over Athletic Club, but couldn’t catch up to Atletico Madrid. Sevilla will be making their third consecutive appearance in Champions League after crashing out in the group stage in the 2021-22 tournament. Sevilla is led by Rafa Mir, who notched 10 goals on the season while Ivan Rakitic led in assists with six.